It is conventional in the art to effect sulfur removal from hydrocarbon stocks by subjecting them to treatment with hydrogen and at an elevated temperature and pressure while in contact with a catalyst containing hydrogenating components, either supported or unsupported. Typical of the catalysts suggested by the prior art are those containing Group VI-B or Group VIII metals, or their oxides or sulfides, as the hydrogenating components, with such hydrogenating components being supported on a variety of well-known carriers, such as, for example, alumina, kieselguhr, zeolitic molecular sieves and other materials having high surface areas.
A hydrodesulfurization process employing a catalyst composition promoted with titanium is described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,840,473. As described therein, titanium was added to the Group VI-B and Group VIII metal-containing catalyst composition by dissolving titanium tetrachloride in normal-heptane and impregnating the calcined support under substantially anhydrous conditions. Following this impregnation step, the catalyst composition was oven dried and calcined.